Monday, July 2, 2007

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

Recently, I watched Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. I hadn’t paid attention to anything Robotech for quite sometime. The only thing I’ve seen since the original TV show was Macross Plus. Anybody who’s mildly into anime would have heard and probably seen this direct to DVD release already, but for those of use who enjoyed Robotech and then forgot about it, The Shadow Chronicles is pleasant surprise. This movie brought back many memories and helped conclude some unfinished storylines while jumpstarting a whole new adventure.

Robotech was one of the few sci-fi soap operas that worked. Somehow the show just struck the right balance between romance and outer space action and thus appealed to both boys and girls. A lot of it had to with the episodic nature of the show and the growing sophistication of American audiences for Japanese anime. In fact, I’d be willing to bet it was Robotech that really helped Japanese animation breakthrough into the mainstream. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles carries on this great balanced storytelling and also uses new technology to really provide amazingly animated visuals. Newcomers to the franchise might get a little lost while watching Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, but the story and action are so compelling; I think most folks would be intrigued to seek out the original.

I was going to say that The Shadow Chronicles is heavily influenced by the new Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 but as the original Robotech came out before these shows maybe it was the other way around. The Shadow Chronicles is as highly entertaining and visually arresting as your gonna get with a space adventure. Check it out.

The storyline is a direct continuation from the 85th (and final) episode of the original Robotech television series, and the first third of the movie runs concurrently with the events at the end of the TV series - albeit from different points of view. The plot revolves around the Robotech Expeditionary Force's final battle with the Invid on Earth, and the fallout from the events of that battle. An old enemy of the Invid is making its presence known, and is determined to wipe out all protoculture users, including humanity. The production is a mixture of 2D animation and cel-shaded CG mecha animation.